Hosting a conference or other major thought leadership event is a massive undertaking. And all too often we see organisations racing to the finish line, celebrating the fact that they got it done, then completely failing to capitalize on the massive volume of genuine thought leadership content that they pulled together for the event.
A key question to ask yourself is, how are we going to drive engagement during and immediately after the event, and how can we create a long tail of content that we can draw on for months into the future?
The answer is surprisingly simple: establishing a communications and content plan prior to the event will allow you to maximise your content capture and output during and immediately after the event, while also building a bank of content that you can drip feed for months afterwards.
Here’s how.
During the event
Capture as much content as possible and pump out as much as you possibly can, either live or “as live”.
At last year’s FECCA22 conference we worked with the hosts to capture 29 hours of high-quality video, audio, and photo content over 2.5 days, and with our editing team on-site we output content in multiple aspect ratios for various platforms throughout the event.
We also output full-length speeches delivered by VIPs for use on their channels, and for distribution to media.
Immediately after the event
Consider what you can put out immediately after your conference to keep the conversation going.
Were there highlights from speakers that are worth cutting into social clips? Are there photos of happy attendees you can post to reiterate the networking opportunity? Did any of the presenters say anything newsworthy that could help you drum up some earned media coverage?
In the case of FECCA22, we cut together a wrap-up video of the event featuring plenty of colour and movement, as well as grabs from presenters and participants which was shown during the final session of the conference, then also available for publication immediately afterwards.
Creating a content tail
With a little bit of pre-planning, you can put a plan in place to make sure you have enough content from your conference to not only position your organization as a thought leader for months following the event, but also to assist with promoting your next event further down the track.
For example, with an abundance of video captured, you can output entire presentations, coupled with social media clips for promotion, and blog articles and graphics for diversity of content.
Otherwise, most conferences capture the audio of their presenters’ talks as a matter of course, so with a bit of creative editing these could be cut together into podcast episodes and also coupled with derivative blog, video and graphic content for promotion.
Take-aways
The important thing to remember when considering all of the above is that you should be creating content with your organization’s strategic objectives and target audiences in mind, with an uncompromising goal of outputting high-value content aimed at amplifying the content you’re already generating through the event and driving engagement with your organisation.
Got questions? Hosting a major event soon and need help? Drop us a line – cogs@thecontentengine.com.au